“We do it for the team” – Student-athletes’ initiation practices and their impact on group cohesion

Abstract

Hazing or inappropriate initiation activities are a well-documented occurrence within university sport team societies. This study examined the occurrence of initiation activities in relation to team cohesion. One hundred and fifty-four participants completed the Group Environment Questionnaire and the Team Cohesion Questionnaire in relation to initiation activities at their institution. Results revealed that athletes were more aware of appropriate than inappropriate initiation activities, with males being aware of a higher occurrence of inappropriate activities than females. Results were also analysed by sport type, revealing that interactive team sport players recorded higher hazing scores than co-acting players. With regard to cohesion, no significant relationship was found between hazing and cohesion suggesting the notion that initiations enhance cohesion in sport is untrue.